COMBINING ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND MIGRAINEPRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Taking antidepressants, like Pristiq, along with certain migraine medications can lead to dangerous and even life-threatening side-effects.

Many people who suffer from depression also suffer from migraine headaches. Unfortunately, the mechanism of action of many antidepressants is to increase serotonin (a feel good neurotransmitter) levels in the brain. Triptan drugs like Imitrex, which are used to reduce or end the pain of a migraine attack also work by stimulating serotonin receptors.

This combination of antidepressants and triptan migraine drugs, can lead to too much serotonin in the brain. This is not a good thing and can result in a potentially life-threatening condition known as “serotonin syndrome.”

Though not approved for migraine prevention by the FDA, some physicians recommend antidepressants like Pristiq, for this purpose. There is very little data supporting this recommendation and not insignificant risk if they are also used with the triptan drugs like Imitrex or Zomig.

In some people, just the use of triptans alone can result in unhealthy levels of serotonin, leading to serotonin syndrome. This risk increases substantially if these people are also taking an antidepressant like Pristiq or any other of several antidepressants known either as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or SNRI (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors).

In severe cases of serotonin syndrome life-threatening symptoms can occur:

High Fever
Seizures
Irregular heart beat
Unconsciousness

If you and your physician decide to use this combination of drugs, you must be monitored very closely for any of these signs and symptoms of serotonin syndrome.

If your migraines are bad enough, your physician may decide to stop the antidepressant so that you can use the triptan drugs with less risk (though as mentioned above, they alone, in some users can cause serotonin syndrome).

A win-win solution for many migraine sufferers who are also suffering with depression is to switch to the all natural migraine prevention supplement, MigreLief.

Prevention is clearly desirable rather than to constantly just treating the pain of migraines and there is no additional risk of serotonin syndrome when using MigreLief.

A neurologist put me on Lyrica and I take sumatripin. I told him I was on a triptin medication. My migraines come on at least 5 times a day everyday. I tried Migrelief, at least 6 bottles and it didn’t help me.t

admin

May 5, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Though MigreLief works for most people, in your case it doesn’t seem to have helped you. How much Triptan medication do you take per week? If you are taking too much it can cause additional migraines. Perhaps because your migraines are so severe, staying on MigrelIef for a longer period of time may be of benefit but it is hard to know for sure. You didn’t mention how old you are. If you are menstruating, do your periods cause sever PMS symptoms? If so you may want to try MigreLief+M. Sincerely, Curt Hendrix

[…] Additionally, if the child is already being treated pharmacologically for ADHD, depression, anxiety, stress, anorexia, or anything requiring medication, adding yet another medication to those already stressing the child’s body is simply unsound at best, and life-threatening at worst. Combining other medications, especially antidepressants, with migraine medications such as those mentioned above can raise serotonin levels too much and result in serotonin syndrome. (Read more about this potentially dangerous drug combination) […]

[…] Additionally, if the child is already being treated pharmacologically for ADHD, depression, anxiety, stress, anorexia, or anything requiring medication, adding yet another medication to those already stressing the child’s body is simply unsound at best, and life-threatening at worst. Combining other medications, especially antidepressants, with migraine medications such as those mentioned above can raise serotonin levels too much and result in serotonin syndrome. (Read more about this potentially dangerous drug combination) […]

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